Serena's POV

"That's a nice view," A groggy voice speaks behind me.

Looks like sleeping beauty has arisen

"Are you talking about me or the city?" I turn around to face the raven haired boy, our room's big window behind me.

"Umm," He scratches his messy bed head. "Both?"

I can see him fighting the urge to disappear back beneath the white sheets.

"Good answer," I wink and climb back onto the bed.

The apartment we're in is high in the clouds and this bed feels like a cloud. We've certainly made the right friends here.

I continue to crawl across, tumbling over Ash and giving hima quick peck on the cheek on my way by. "I'm going to go see if Green is up. Come on Pikachu."

Pikachu, who had his own pillow, jumps onto my shoulder and we head out into the apartment. The strings on my purple pyjama top swing back and forth as I wind through the hallway.

"Good morning," Our host smiles from the couch.

Her long brown hair is tied up and she seems to be working on her laptop. An untouched cup of tea sits on the table beside her.

"Morning," I smile back and make my way to a large white chair in the corner of the room.

I admire the waking sun through the floor to ceiling windows. It peeks through the dozens of skyscrapers on the horizon.

We aren't in Caventree anymore.

This is a modern forest, made of concrete, steel, and glass.

Los Lumeles.

Calling it a vibrant city doesn't quite cover it. Each towering skyscraper has a unique colour, and every colour is covered. I can see all colours of the rainbow just looking in one direction.

They're also oddly shaped, not sticking to the conventional giant box design. Green explained to us that each one uses a different Pokemon for inspiration.

An orange building curves over the road, bright red lights at the end. Just like a Charmander's tail.

Another looks like a collection of building sized boulders stacked on top of each other, Onix.

Of all the cities I've been to in Kalos and Hoenn, this one might top them all. Except for Lumiose of course.

However, one particular building rises above the rest like a watch tower. How fitting that it's the Triton building.

Two crystal blue builders rise up together until one starts to slump over. It arches over the road and merges into the other.

Now as one, the building continues to curve until extending horizontally across the sky. At the end is a purple trident plastered on both sides, with a glowing green light in the middle.

A continuous stream of water pours out of the end, falling for a bit before dissipating into the ocean breeze. This paired with the glowing green eye makes the building look like a snake.

It points towards the white sand beaches and calm ocean bay, watching over every person that enters the city. A little intimidating.

Hopefully it misses Gold.

"How long do you think it will take Gold to get here? I ask, turning back to the Elemente native.

"I'm not sure," She sets her computer down on the couch beside her. "It's not exactly a frequently travelled path."

"Or legal," I add.

"That too," She sighs. "It was a good idea of the Elder's to send him that way but I don't know if he can navigate the way without me."

"You gave him instructions at least."

"But did he remember them?"

Gold's POV

"I have a feeling they aren't coming Eevee," I sigh, throwing another stone into the water.

"Vee," The Pokemon curls up in my lap, her lime green scales not providing the usual warmth an Eevee would.

After successfully travelling through the tree's roots, we ended up back in the forest. A short overgrown trail brought us to this beach.

Not a tropical beach by the way, it's mostly mud and sticks, and the water is cold.

I figured they might end up having to stay the night in Caventree but now it's almost noon the next day. While they've been enjoying hot meals and showers, I've been sitting here...

"Plop."

Throwing rocks endlessly.

There's a chance Green's Dad took them back to the Capital. Or worse, back home. But this is a path not even people from Elemente know about, so how am I supposed to perfectly follow the twenty steps of direction Green frantically yelled at me while her Dad walked down Caventree.

A small wooden raft taunts me. It's your typical logs tied with rope kind of raft, with a pole and white cloth sail. The sail wouldn't be much use today since there's no wind. I would also have to learn how to sail.

"Screw it," I pull myself up, setting Eevee down on the raft. "Let's go Eevee."

"Eve?" She tilts her head, her bug eyes definitely questioning my decision.

"They'd be here by now," I take off my shoes, throwing them and my bag on the wooden logs. "Water District here we come."

I get in the gross swampy water and dislodge the raft from the sand. Conveniently, there's an oar strapped to the mast. Whoever left the raft here was nice enough to leave their oar as well.

I stand at the back and slowly row our way out. The water is full of algae and seaweed, so a few strokes in I'm already regretting my decision.

Sweat beats my forehead as I shift from one side of another, trying to keep us straight. We get far enough out that the afternoon sun is the only thing I can see on the horizon.

Apparently this is a lake that separates the Bug and Water districts, so the water should stay pretty calm. If it stays as stagnant as the air, we'll have no issues.

Eventually there's supposed to be a river that will take us to a small town in the Water District. Then from there we're supposed to go towards the big city.

But at the rate I'm rowing it may be awhile.

"It's your turn to row Eevee," I joke and try to find the Pokémon on the raft.

Except all I see is a bright light.

It dies down and a familiar brown Pokémon tilts her head. "Vee?"

"You're back?!" I exclaim and pick up Eevee who's back in her base form. "That's fascinating."

"So it was a form."

"This brings up so many possibilities."

"Will this happen in every district?"

"What about one with a known Eevee evolution?"

"I mean you didn't instantly turn into a Vaporeon so what triggers the evolution?"

"Vee," The Pokémon squirms and jumps out of my arms.

"Sorry Eevee," I crouch to her level. "I got a little too excited there. I'll get back to rowing."

I look ahead and see that we've drifted towards land, the setting sun just above the tree line. We won't have to sleep on the raft tonight thank Arceus.

Actually don't thank Arceus it's their fault we're here in the first place.

The trees split into two distinct holes, pathways for two rivers out of the sea and back inland. "Green didn't mention two rivers," I frown.

Well that'll be a tomorrow problem.

Serena's POV
"I'm back!" Green shouts as she comes through the apartment door.

"Hey!" I yell back jokingly. "Did you find what you were looking for?"

"I did," She smiles. "I also brought an old friend."

Old is not how I would describe the "friend".

The boy is what you envision in a party city like Los Lumeles. Someone who just looks like they sit on a beach all day.

He has fairly tan skin, his naturally pale skin peeking from under his bathing suit. He has perfectly manicured brown hair, short on the sides and curly on top.

Accompanying his purple bathing suit, is a white polo. A stark contrast to the dark brown eyes smiling at us. I can see that he fills out the shirt quite well, pretty muscular for his age.

"Eric Triton," He smiles at us.

Well that explains the confidence.

"Nice to meet you," Ash shakes his hand. "I'm Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town."

"So I've heard," The boy presumably around our age laughs. "And you must be Serena."

Eric takes my hand and kisses it. "Nice to meet you," I try not to blush.

"Eric and I have been friends since childhood," The brunette smiles and puts an arm around him.

Ash raises an eyebrow at me. Look at him picking up on stuff now.

We'll be discussing this later.

"It has been awhile though," Eric's deeper voice says. "I think you were taller than me last time we saw each other."

"The good ol' days," Green sighs dramatically. "I'm happy I ran into you, we're gonna need a tour guide to find a way around Los Lumeles."

"I think that's below my duties as District Leader," Eric waves her off. "You're gonna have to find your own way around turquoise."

"I thought we were past that nickname," She frowns. "I guess your services are no longer required so you can go."

"I have a better idea," He proposes. "I have a military battle challenge in an hour or so."

"I want to battle you!" Ash declares.

"He already has a challenger," I shake my head.

"Tomorrow Ash," Eric winks. "Today will the warmup for our match."

"Sounds good," Ash gives a thumbs up. "I already got my team transferred."

"Who'd you pick?" Green asks.

"It'll have to be a surprise," I smirk. "Ash has a lot of water types to choose from."

"Wait until you see my team," Eric gestures towards the door. "They'll send you right back to Kanto."

"Bring your best," Ash has his trademark confident smile.

"Now now hotshot," Green ushers Eric towards the door. "We'll see how you feel after facing the literal world's best battler."

"See you guys in the stands," He waves and Green shuts the door.

The girl wastes no time jumping in the couch with the book she came into the apartment with.

"He's cute," I sit on a chair beside her.

"Hmm?" Her hazel eyes peek above the book. "Oh yea sure."

"That's the book you were looking for?" Ash joins us.

"Mhm," She nods, not taking her eyes off the words. "I'm hoping the whereabouts of the next plate Triton wants is in here."

"We'll leave you to it," I get up and tie my hair into a pony tail. "You'll find us at the stadium?"

"Yep," She nods.

"See you later," Ash waves and we head down to the streets of Los Lumeles.

Our feet hit the sidewalk and we walk between the towering buildings. The sun's rays bounce back and forth between the glass buildings, making the tropical air even warmer.

It's a good thing I changed out of my usual outfit, opting for a grey tank-top with the maroon skirt. Much more fitting for this district.

The sights and sounds of the city pass us by. Ash points out the buildings that represent his Pokémon. A yellow zig zag one for Pikachu, One covered in a Squirtle shell.

"Woah," I gasp.

At the edge of the street, the sidewalk turns to sand. A blue and white mat extends towards the water, making it easier to walk across the sand.

The sounds of cars and people are replaced by flocks of Wingull gliding in the ocean breeze. The even feels softer out here.

But that's not what has my attention.

A huge stage covers one edge of the beach. The black base rises out the sand, bigger than any stage I've performed on.

Tall blue and white curtains twist through the steel beams holding the canopy out. An array of spit lights and speakers wait to be used.

"Maybe you can put in a performance while we're here," Ash suggests.

"Maybe," I mumble and grab his hand. "We better hurry."

The beach extends out from the city like a peninsula. On our right was the stage, but on our left is rock.

Rock that is shaking from cheers of rowdy people.

An escarpment of rock lines the edge of the beach closest to the city. It separates the water from the sand, making it hard to see the skyscrapers from here.

The only visible building is the snake head of the Triton building that reaches over this way.

We get into a line of people filing into a passage way in the rock. The ivy that covers most of the grey rock is pink, making it quite mystical.

I notice Ash's hand start to fidget as we enter the stadium. There's nothing he'd like to do more than jump on the field and battle.

The stadium is a ring of rock, with the pink ivy falling into the seats below. Seats are really just carved into the rock, which doesn't sound very comfortable.

The rock that's been baking in the sun is kind of burning the part of my thighs not covered by my skirt. Can confirm not comfortable.

The battlefield doesn't look like fun either. It's mostly sand, with some pools of water as well. The challenger's Kingdra, a blue seahorse Pokémon, is confined to a small pool.

While Eric's Golduck runs around, firing moves from all angles. Clearly it has an advantage.

Hopefully Ash is paying attention to this.

I glance at him and he's looking at me already.

"Pay attention," I push his head towards the battle.

Gold's POV
"Another day of rowing," I sigh as we hit the open water again.

I made the executive decision to take the the river on the right. The one on the left looks like it doesn't go on for very long and we probably aren't far enough to start turning inland.

We've been going at this for a few hours now so there's no turning back.

"So if I remember Green's instructions correctly..." I trail off. "Hmm."

After twisting through forest, we have ended back out at a bigger body of water. But based on the growing size of the waves and salty air, this isn't the same lake.

"Los Lumeles is apparently on the ocean," I shrug. "I guess we're taking a more direct route Eevee."

"Vee," The brown and cream bundle of fluff doesn't sound convinced.

I keep the raft close to the shore. It may not be the fastest route but it seems safer. It is getting harder to keep the raft close though, the tide pulling us out.

The sun is starting to set again so it may not be a bad idea to hit shore and call it a day. The cool breeze is starting to pierce my maroon sweatshirt.

So does the rain.

And it goes from zero to a hundred fast.

Rain splashes into the ocean around us, creating a fog on the surface due to the temperature difference. Wind blows the rain into me as I try to row towards shore.

But I have a sinking feeling we're moving further away.

"Screw it," I drop the oar. "Come here Eevee!"

I pull the Pokémon into my arms, along with my bag. I sit against the mast, holding my starter Pokémon tight.

A big wave tilts us forwards and I quickly reach back for the mast. "Ahhh!"

The muscles in my arm stretch as I awkwardly try to hold on and keep us from slipping. Unfortunately I'm out of arms to grab the oar that slips off the edge of the raft and into the abyss.

The cold dangerous abyss.

A few more waves bounce us around.

I hate the water.